Objective:
Crop diversity is a useful indicator of local and regional socio-economic stability in less developed countries. Timely multispectral remotely sensed imagery can help identify crops, assess their conditions, and estimate their areal extents. However, the reliable surface reference data, required to successfully process and interpret the remotely sensed imagery, are often difficult to acquire in these countries. Carefully designed experiments in surrogate study sites can provide appropriate test-beds for developing and testing crop mapping techniques.
The objectives are to 1) measure and model the spatial and spectral properties of the selected crops throughout their growing seasons, and 2) determine appropriate spatial and spectral resolutions of satellite imagery for identifying crops and assessing their acreage.

Approach:
Scientists from HRSL will work with scientists from Crime and Narcotics Center (CNC) to provide plots and fields of selected crops. Small plots of poppy and cannabis will be grown in a secure field at BARC. Production fields of wheat will be grown at BARC. Leaf optical properties and leaf chlorophyll content, leaf area index, plant height, and stage of development will be measured throughout the growing season with spectrometers and multi-band radiometers. On selected dates, reflectance spectra and multispectral images of plant canopies will be acquired as a function of pixel resolution. Multispectral satellite imagery of BARC will be acquired and analyzed. Surface reference data and satellite imagery will be compiled and exchanged.